Phono stages belong to which tier?

2nd hand Pass Xono - perfect choice

Pedrillo,

I have the Whest 30RDT, which I utilize with a VPI Scoutmaster Signature table and a Dynavector Te Kaitora Rua cartridge. I run these into an ARC Ref. 3 and a REf 110. My speakers are Sonus Faber Elipsas. I compared the Whest 30rdt against the ARC ph 7 and the new Esoteric phonostage. The Whest was a better match for my system, the ARC didn't have enough gain and sounded muffled and the Esoteric was very good, but not good enough to justify the high price. The Whest sounds wonderful, very open, dynamic and detailed. There's great synergy with my system. I've definitely turned into an analogue guy. I highly recommend the Whest RDT. It's $3,995 U.S. and can be had for less with a little negotiation.

Aceboympk

I was going through a similar search and finally pulled the trigger and bought a Pass XOno. Many say it's over analytical and cold I haven't found this to be true. When the impedance was set correctly for my cartridge the sound became full with timbre, great dynamics, well defined and powerful bass and good inner detail. When the impedance was set to high (incorrectly?) the the sound was very detailed and cooler; I think many may have set and/or kept the impedance to high and never experienced how good this phono can be. The XOno handles a symphony orchestra's timbre diversity with a refined ease.

would like to add the Tron Seven to this list! awesome phono pre-amp.

Another vote for the TRON Seven! Top class sound, great build quality and built to order (can be made bespoke to suit your cart).